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Saturday, August 6, 2011

Essential Questions
What is your company providing? (Can be either a product or service, but be specific. Don't tell me you are selling sporting goods - tell me whether you are distributing to stores or selling online.)

Our company can be considered as an apparel-selling company. As we do not think that a physical shop would be feasible due to our different business model, we would be marketing our products online. Also, we can retail our custom products to retailers.

What is your target group? (e.g. are your clients retirees who want to keep fit or elite athletes?)

We are targeting modern youths that demand for their freedom and is open to different changes. As customers get to customize their own apparels, we can have a diverse market of youths from different backgrounds.
Which aspect of the retail chain are you focusing on? (If you want to design a pair of skates, don't tell me you opening a retail store to sell skates as stores don't normally do design.)

We can be part of the manufacturing yet designing at the same time. This is so as we help customers facilitate the designing of the apparels by providing materials and custom base design, yet retailing our products directly on a Internet platform.

4. After answering the above 3 questions, tell me how your business is different and better than what is currently available.
Our business is considered very different from the main stream apparel market as in still of browsing a store regardless whether online or physically; as instead of choosing from a certain amount of designs, but however, instead of just choosing from already designed apparels which limit the consumers’ choices and own personalization, our business model by allowing consumers to design their own apparels, giving them unlimited freedom and flow of creativity and truly wear what they want to wear.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

1. What is your company providing? (Can be either a product or service, but be specific. Don't tell me you are selling sporting goods - tell me whether you are distributing to stores or selling online.)2. What is your target group? (e.g. are your clients retirees who want to keep fit or elite athletes?)3. Which aspect of the retail chain are you focusing on? (If you want to design a pair of skates, don't tell me you opening a retail store to sell skates as stores don't normally do design.)4. After answering the above 3 questions, tell me how your business is different and better than what is currently available.

1)The SenseWings. It is a pair of shoe that glows in the dark. When the shoe is under different temperature, the colour changes too. Our inspiration comes from the colour changing mug due to the heat. We would be creating this and patenting it to prevent other people from copying. We would use this technology to create shoes for all (genders, age).2)Our target audience is from 15-35 years old as we would like to attract the new era of people who like new innovations. This is new in the market and so it would be successful.3)We would use this technology to create shoes for all (genders, age). We would have a collection that comes out every season. First we would open an outlet and if business is good we would expand it locally and worldwide.4)Our business is much better as it is a new innovation in town and it would attract the new era of people who love new things. It is much better for the locals as they do not have to pay import and export cost compared to the other brands from overseas As people would always want something different, they would like our products.

SINGAPORE - About 80 per cent of companies with a branding campaign achieved consistently higher incomes compared to those that did not, according to a study by consulting firm StrategiCom of about 100 companies listed on Singapore Exchange (SGX).

The study also showed companies that engaged in holistic branding that included internal communications, relationship management and market communications recorded higher average annual revenue growth rates from financial years 2006 to 2009. But most companies are still holding back from spending big bucks on branding.

At a branding seminar yesterday, experts urged companies to "think big" and stressed how vital brand-building would be to capturing a bigger market share.

Some 200 participants attended the seminar, "Create Your Brand Legacy", organised by the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and held in conjunction with Singapore Prestige Brand Award 2011.

Experts say good brands are built on a two-way relationship. Customers engage with brands and vice-versa, and brands must connect with them emotionally

Mr Adam Khoo, co-founder & executive chairman, Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group, said: "A lot of people always think that advertisements are only for established, big companies. But unless you first think like a big company when you're small, you never become a big company."

Almost half - 49 per cent - of the companies that participated in the study are engaged in all three areas of corporate branding: Internal communications, relationship management and market communications. Nurul Syuhaida Bte Akmar

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Thanks for the entertaining performances. As explained, you didn't understand the New Discovery instant challenge correctly. You should have come up with one discovery, and 3 ideas. Need an example? Here's one from Narnia:

U discovered that your wardrobe (can be your class cupboard) leads to the world of Narnia! What does it mean?

1. You can go into the wardrobe, study (and play!) for days, and come back to Singapore, having spent only a few seconds of real time. You will definitely have enough time to complete your homework and ace your exams.

2. You can go into your wardrobe to ski anytime you want, as long as you avoid the ice-queen.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

In the recent webinar, "Innovate the Steve Jobs Way: 7 Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success," Carmine Gallo shared seven principles for innovation which he learned from studying Steve Jobs for many years. The webinar was a prelude to his book The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success. I found it extremely useful to attend the webinar before reading the book and I combined what I learned in the webinar with what I learned from the book. The book provides concrete examples of how Steve Jobs innovates and the author conducted several interviews with former Apple employees.

To support what he says in the book, Carmine Gallo also looked at what other innovators were successfully doing. He defines innovation as, "A new way of doing things that result in positive change." How can you innovate the way you do your job? What innovations are occurring in other industries that you can transfer to yours?

Carmine Gallo has identified seven principles to guide innovation based on what he has learned from studying Steve Jobs, the Co-founder and CEO of Apple. The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs has 15 chapters, an introductory one and two chapters devoted to each principle. Though the book presents a lot of information on the way Steve Jobs approaches innovation, there are many examples of others who are innovating in similar ways and achieving success.

Principle One: Do What You Love

Passion is everything, and it keeps you going when you face inevitable setbacks. Be obsessed and improve the areas that you love. To achieve success, passion is not enough – follow your obsessions, tailor them to your skills, and focus on what you can make money from. What is your calling and your destiny? How can you change the world?

A simple formula is Success = Passion + Skills + Market Demand

Principle Two: Put a Dent in the Universe

Innovation doesn't take place in a vacuum. Have a vision, because innovation cannot occur without one. What's the bigger picture and how can you share your vision with enthusiasts who will make your vision a reality. How is your product or service going to change the world? How can you leave the world a better place than you found it? How can you make your customers' lives better?

Margaret Mead's quote, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has," encapsulates this principle.

Principle Three: Kick Start Your Brain

Seek our new and novel experiences, and bombard your brain with them. Who is doing something remarkable that you can learn from? Steve Jobs studied the Four Seasons Hotel and Mercedes Benz because they are aces when it comes to remarkable customer experiences. Jobs introduced a Concierge Service in the Apple Store based on what he learned from observing the Four Seasons Hotel.

A critical part of this principle is to make connections among disparate things and force yourself outside of your physical and mental comfort zone. To live a vision requires creative thinking which requires immersion in novel experiences.

New experiences expand the way you think. Surround yourself with people from different cultures. Experiment, and try new things. What are two things that you can do differently to improve the way in which you deliver your product or service?

Principle Four: Sell Dreams Not Products

Understand your customers, and help them to fulfill their dreams. Get to know them better than they know themselves. How can you change your customers' worlds? Create remarkable customer experiences and market that.

Your customers often do not know what they want, so be a linchpin as marketing guru Seth Godin says and anticipate what they need before they do. It's a twist to the concept of build it and they will come, to build it and convince them that they should come.

Principle Five: Say No to 1,000 Things

Take the road less traveled. Remove distractions so you can focus on the core product. Eliminate distractions from the customer experience. Don't spread yourself too thin, and go for simplicity. Steve Job told Nike's CEO Mark Parker, "Get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff." Go for simplicity and elegance.

Simplify and focus on your product and service offerings. What are you best at? What is one thing that you do extremely well? Focus on it and simplify.

Principle Six: Create Insanely Great Experiences

Create emotional connections with your customers. What are five ways you can enrich the lives of your customers? What relationships are you forming with your customers? Look outside your industry for examples. Create memorable experiences so you have rabid fans. Before you innovate, hold your customer in your mind's eye, and proceed from there.

Principle Seven: Master the Message

Effectively communicate your vision. Innovate around the way you communicate the vision. What are master presenters and communicators doing? Emulate them. Be a great storyteller, and be consistent in your messaging.

I enjoyed reading The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success because I had to stop several times and think about what I was reading. The many examples demonstrated how others were using these seven principles with great success, and I understood how I could use them as well. I also learned about innovative products that others were delivering.

For instance, DNA 11 creates art with their customer's DNA and became a multi-million dollar business in five years. The owners Adrian Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed didn't conduct focus group interviews to decide if there was a need for their product, they created the product then created the demand for it. They also noticed that some of their customers were asking for art with their pets' DNA, so they offered that to other customers who might not have thought of that.

What Carmine Gallo has shown in his book is that innovation does not necessarily mean creating something radically new. Sometimes it is simply doing something in an entirely new way. This is a practical book written in a clear manner. I recommend The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success.